Will the Patriots defense hold against Patterson and Peterson?
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| Patterson (84) runs for a 67-yard touchdown against the Rams (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson) |
While the Patriots suffered a stunning loss to the Dolphins last weekend the Vikings routed the St. Louis Rams. In the Vikings 34-6 victory wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 102 yards on just three carries, with a 67-yard scoring run off a pitch. Peterson had an average day against the Rams defense running for 75 yards and catching two passes.
The big question this week is whether New England coach Bill Belichick can game plan against the Vikings big play makers.
Last week the Patriots gave up big rushing plays to Knowshon Moreno allowing him to gain 134 yards on the ground. In the second half of the game the Patriots put out a 3-4 defense despite the fact that Vince Wilfork seemed to be the only lineman with the size to play in such a system. Mike Reiss made some projections for next week's lineman roster moves writing:
There's no doubt that Minnesota will look to test the Patriots' run defense, and we wouldn't be surprised if Bill Belichick makes a few changes to prepare for the challenge. Specifically, putting together a base defense that is a bit more stout than what the team opened with in Miami would make some sense.
That could mean a combination of Vince Wilfork and Sealver Siliga on the inside, and the possible promotion of a strong, physical player such as Kelcy Quarles from the practice squad to add more beef to the roster. A fundamentally sound player like Rob Ninkovich could also be utilized more in the plan than he was against Miami (35 of 74 snaps).
When asked about Patterson in a conference call today Belichik stated:
I'm sure that they'll get him the ball in ways that maybe we haven't seen or just opportunities to get him in space. He's a tremendous kickoff returner. Very aggressive, fast, athletic guy; when he gets the ball in his hands, he's a very dynamic player. I'm sure that offensively they'll find some ways to get it to him, whether it's throwing it to him or handing it to him or slip screens or whatever. There hasn't been a ton of that to this point until the Rams game.
Personally I believe that the run defense will show up in Minnesota. Yes there may have been personnel mismatches on the defensive front, but you cannot ignore the Miami heat. When Moreno lead the Dolphins on that long touchdown drive I noticed a lot of hands on hips from the defense, and an interesting statistic from the Miami Dophlins website:
With an announced kickoff of 89 degrees, this afternoon’s game tied for the fifth-warmest home opening temperature in franchise history. The Dolphins are now 10-2 in games where the temperature is 89 degrees or warmer.
Next week the Pats will be playing at TCF Bank Stadium where the Minnesota Golden Gophers normally play. The Vikings will play all of their home games this season as construction continues on a new stadium for the team. According to the Weather Channel as of this writing it is predicted to be 65 degrees and cloudy for the game. To me, that is a very good reason to be optimistic for the Patriots this Sunday.
Interesting reminder, the Vikings were able to acquire Patterson in the first round of the 2013 draft because they traded a slew of picks to the Patriots.
Do you think we will see a better Patriots defense play in fair weather? Let us know in the comments section below!
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